Obamas release tax data, have rate of 20.4 percent

US President Barack Obama and his wife, Michelle, reported adjusted gross income of US$481,098 for last year, down 21 percent from 2012, according to tax returns released on Friday by the White House.

The Obamas paid US$98,169 in federal taxes, including US$2,310 imposed by the 2010 Affordable Care Act that he signed, under an effective income tax rate of 20.4 percent.

“In 2013, as a result of his policies, the president was subject to limitations in tax preferences, as well as additional Medicare and investment income taxes, for high-income earners,” press secretary Jay Carney said in a blog post on the White House Web site.

The Obamas are not affected by the higher marginal tax rates that took effect last year because their taxable income is less than US$450,000. The president proposed a US$250,000 threshold for higher rates before compromising with Republicans.

The Obamas donated US$59,251 to charity last year, down from US$150,034 the year before. Their largest donation of US$8,751 went to the Fisher House Foundation, which provides temporary housing for families near military and veterans’ hospitals.

The president, 52, made less last year than he did in any year since 2004, when he gave a speech at the US Democratic Party National Convention that made him a national figure.